The New Zealand round of the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport has received a glowing endorsement as Taupo heats up for this weekend's high-octane schedule.

A1GP chief executive Pete da Silva says the picturesque rural setting, relaxed environment and emphasis on expressing New Zealand culture provides a superb counterbalance to the other nine rounds in the nation versus nation series.

The boss of the global motorsport series left Taupo this time last year mightily impressed with what he saw at the first-up New Zealand round of the series.

"This is exactly where we want to be," da Silva said. "I know the different nations were delighted with their Kiwi experience. It may be a very picturesque environment and the people may be laid-back and friendly, but it also delivers in terms of professionalism and motorsport passion." Da Silva said the placement of a round in a small, far-flung nation such as New Zealand was all that A1GP was about as a series with increasing reach and appeal.

Celebrating its diversity and enjoying the different attributes of each participant is big in da Silva's book. "This is still a relatively new series, but traditions are developing, rivalries are forming and we're seeing countries like New Zealand really racing from the heart," da Silva said. "We are starting to see that real internal passion from the World Cup of Motorsport. And that is just going to grow from strength to strength as we identify more and more with the peoples of the different nations."

While expressing one's culture to the other competitors was an important aspect of being a global sport, winning counts. "New Zealand is the best I have seen so far where a nation has expressed its culture and then come back a few days later and competed fiercely against its 21 other rivals."

He also believes that a host of racing in other classes apart from the 3400cc V8-powered A1GP cars was a benchmark other race weekends should strive to provide.

The first-ever A1GP race weekend was held at iconic British track Brands Hatch on September 25, 2005. Da Silva signed on as chief executive early in the second season straddling 2006 and 2007. He says patriotic fervour and sound business sense convinced him A1GP was a long-term proposition with significant growth potential. "I came from a big corporate environment," he said. "The reason I took on this role is because I believe in the brand and I love the concept.

"To get A1GP off the ground took a monumental effort. Now we want to be more strategic in terms of where we want A1GP to be and how we get there. To me it is very clear, it is the developing nations and countries that have motorsport close to their heart and maybe do not have the first tier of motorsport.

"We also see ourselves as a developing series for upcoming drivers. The calibre of drivers we have in the series has been amazing. And I always ask myself, 'Where were they before A1GP when they didn't have that sort of exposure?' It is a significant series for developing nations to groom their drivers and compete in all spheres of motor racing."

Even more "mature" drivers are experiencing a second life through A1GP. Former F1 driver Narain Karthikeyan captured the imagination of his countrymen again by driving India to a maiden Feature Race win in the last round in Zhuhai pre-Christmas. Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh publicly congratulated him straight after the event and he then met with President Smt Pratibha Patil last week in Delhi.

Even nominal growth in mega-markets such as India and China will have a huge impact on A1GP's fortunes, as will the six-year partnership with Ferrari starting next season and the emphasis on the environment as epitomised by the introduction of biofuel for all A1GP races, starting this weekend in Taupo.